Tourism in glaciated areas: The French Alps - Chamonix
Location:
North-western part of the Alps
15km from the Swiss border/15km from the Italien border
The area si dominted by Mont Blanc - 4,808m tall
Chamonix has attracted tourists for 250 years. It has a resident population of 10,000 people and this increases up to 100,000 people in summer and 60,000 in winter.
Winter attractions:
Skiing
Snowboarding
Cross-country skiing with two local courses established
Ice climbing
free riding and paragliding
Snowshoe hiking trails for walkers
a variety of hotels, restaurants, heated swimming pools and spas
museums, shops and historical buildings
Summer attractions:
Montenvers railway takes visitors to the Mer de Glace
350km of marked hiking trails
40km of mountain bike trails
rock climbing, mountaineering, paragliding
rafting, canyoning, pony trekking and summer luging
Live music, cafes and colourful flowers
Impacts of tourism in the French alps: benefits and problems
Benefits of tourism:
Tourists bring lots of economic benefits - employment for local people in hotels and restaurants, in sports facilities and as guides and instructors
Constuction and maintenance jobs for local people
The extra income supports local services such as shops
Local people benefit from improvements in public transport and health care
Chamonix is maintained as an attractive town
Pedestrianised streets give people safe access to shops and the town is clean as well
Problems of tourism:
The town can become noisy and congested at peak times
Access to Chamonix via motorway is good but in Chamonix itself the roads are narrow and become easily jammed
Mountain footpaths have become eroded due to the sheer volume of visitors, both walking and using mountain bikes
The shops, cafes and restaurants are touist-orientated and expensive. Local people often have to pay more for everyday items.
Houses are more expensive and many are second homes for wealthy visitors
CONFLICTS - can arise between different groups of people. Mass tourism activites can create unwelcome noise and damage to the environment, which can detract from the enjoyment of those seeking more peaceful activities such as walking or bird watching with local poeple. Farm animals can be harmed by thoughtless actions of tourists, such as leaving gates open or dropping litter
Managing tourism in Chamonix
Chamonix is keen to promote responsible tourism as a means of balancing the demands of tourism with the need to conserve and protect the environment
The Chamonix municipality (local council) provides an environmentally friendly transport service with clean energy buses and free public transport
An initiative called Espace Mont-Blanc involves cooperation between France, Italy and Switzerland on issues of international transport, nature conservation, forests and water resources
Another important initiative called Tomorrow's Valley brings together representatives from the local community and tourist groups to plan for sustainable management. Current porjects include:
burying service networks such as electricity lines underground
renovating and preserving historic buildings and monuments
preserving natural wetlands and peat bogs
minimising the impact of skiing on the landscape by planting trees and using local building m,aterials that blend in with the natural environment
maintaining and way-marking footpaths and cleaning rivers - this provides seasonal employment for local people
supporting local traditional employmeny sectors, particularly farming
A video showing Chamonix from the French tourist board
Key terms: Responsible tourism: the idea of encouraging a balance between the demands of tourism and the need to protect the environment Sustainable management: a form of management that ensures that developments are long lastiong and non-harmful to the environment
Land in Glacial Areas - http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/lochaber-highland-and-valley-land-use/4307.html
Tourism in glaciated areas: The French Alps - Chamonix
Location:
Chamonix has attracted tourists for 250 years. It has a resident population of 10,000 people and this increases up to 100,000 people in summer and 60,000 in winter.
Winter attractions:
Summer attractions:
Impacts of tourism in the French alps: benefits and problems
Benefits of tourism:
Problems of tourism:
Managing tourism in Chamonix
Another important initiative called Tomorrow's Valley brings together representatives from the local community and tourist groups to plan for sustainable management. Current porjects include:
A video showing Chamonix from the French tourist board
Key terms:
Responsible tourism: the idea of encouraging a balance between the demands of tourism and the need to protect the environment
Sustainable management: a form of management that ensures that developments are long lastiong and non-harmful to the environment